Sunday, August 3, 2008

It's Sunday and a slow news day so I decided to list some (FREE) LGBT social networking sites I have come across that I like. The following sites are good for dating, making friends, sharing a common interest, and business networking. They are sort of like the queer myspaces of the world.

I know there are many communities specific to individual orientations/identities but I figured I would just list the ones that are most inclusive.

Feel free to list any social networking/dating sites you are part of and like...

http://www.glee.com - Gay, Lesbian, and Everyone Else (GLEE) is a great resource for finding your love, friends, or a new job! The website has forums, videos, music and more... (Another thing I like about (GLEE) is it is asexual & trans friendly).

http://www.gayster.com - Gayster is a new queer take on myspace and has just launched, it seeks to unite the LGBT community and offers member search, videos, groups, photo's, blogs, event listings and more.

http://www.connexion.org - Connexion lets you find dates and friends, get LGBT news, and find the latest party near you.

http://www.downelink.com - Downelink was created as a play on the word down low "DL" and caters mostly to African American and Latino LGBTQ populations, but is open to everyone. DowneLink offers an array of features, such as social networking, blogs, internal emails, bulletins, forums, video/audio chat and instant messaging, and video profile.

http://mogenic.com/ - Mogenic is for queer youth to connect. It offers articles, news, blogs, people search, and so much more.

http://www.thingbox.com - Mostly U.K. centered but open to the planet at large Thingbox offers popular forums, chat, groups, events, people search and more.

That's some misinformation there. Downelink has NOTHING to do with the "DL" phenomena. In fact it was started to cater to GAY AND LESBIAN PEOPLE OF ASIAN/PACIFIC ISLANDER DESCENT.

Also, speaking as Mod of QUEERPOC on Livejournal, I cannot add you as a friend -- that isn't the way it works. Especially given that your organization seems to focus on white gay people and culture and when it comes to gay communities of color and people, the mark is so missed that one groups way to call itself together gets reinterpreted as "DL" and attributed to someone else.

Yes, I have been a member of that particular site for years -- even before it was sold to a bigger company, before it even had advertisement.

Typical, but ultimately, not what QueerPOC is about. Thank you, but no thank you.

kyooverse - thank you for your input kyo, but I am basing this off of what I heard on LOGO TV which owns Downelink.

As for QUEERPOC you don't have to add me but your assertion that this blog focuses on white people and culture is downright offensive as you don't know what race/ethnicity I am. Regardless of my race/ethnicity, sexual/gender identity I seek to write this blog for everyone and to highlight activist interests for all people whether they are same gender loving, intersex, asexual, etc. I feel most readers have been really happy and we have a very diverse bunch. Sorry to see you feel that way but I don't feel there is any need to change the way I have been operating which has been very sensitive and very inclusive.

Downelink doesnt cater to mainly African America or Latino members but to ASIAN ones. Downelink was started by A Filipino-American back in 2003, and most of its members are actually Asian. And so far, its the most popular and used by the LGBT community because of its longstanding history and ability to customize profiles to the taste of the members.

Prettypinkpearl is a FREE LGBT site which only stared in April 2009 and is just about to have a total re-brand, due to its success so this will be one to watch out for. It has members between 13 to 80 as they felt giving the youth a place to get advice from the older generations was important. You can even sell items by starting your own rainbow store.Febuary will see the new look new name and new features, i think it will be worth a look.